Qatar Airways
 

I was wondering if anyone had any current information on Qatar either from being there or knowing anyone there. Everything I can find is years old. Questions like QOL, days off, schedules, living conditions and living in Doha for my wife and I. I appreciate any information.

I'm 33 and married
5300 hours and an FO at a U.S. regional currently on an E145

Also if they have a training bond and if they collect on it if yes

I know a regional CA that went over there. He was there less than a year, then he came running back to the US and re-started at the regional he originally left for 22,000/yr again. Should tell you a lot.

Basically, your paid a lot of money, to be a treated and worked like complete slave. Flying 100/hrs a month almost every month (which is painful if your doing long haul stuff) with 6-8 days off. The catch is that they sometimes they give you your days off on the road. Your also required to live in Doha and your schedule is specifically built so you can't commute home. My friend said the company sells potential candidates on getting 42 days off per year, but now that there are better options and the company is having staffing issues; most guys are only getting about 30 OFF a year. There's also no guarantee that they'll be consecutive. I believe there is a $30,000 training bond if you bail early, or just never go back to Qatar. Not 100% on that though.

There is also a atmosphere of George Orwell's 1984 going on. The company is heavily relies on fear to keep its employees under control. They've been on the radar of Amnesty International along with other human rights organizations because of they're treatment of foreign workers.

Go to the forums of pprune.org, this is the best site for information on airlines in the Middle East and Asia. There's a ton of information on Qatar on there, should tell you everything you need to know.

I think Emirates and the" other airline in Abu Dhabi" (there's a supposed restraining order from them to be discussed on the internet) is a better deal.

Good Luck.

I know Emirates has a training bond too do you know if they collect on it or if you can just bail early if need be?

From a friend we left Qatar... "Can you say "indentured slavery?"".

I'd say its all about perspective... I have three former colleagues/friends who work there and although they do have gripes it seems the majority of their annoyances are similar to mine. Being single, adventurous minded, having an open mind towards different cultures, and knowing the job isn't forever (unless you want it to be) helps tremendously. Good equipment, good pay, and good experience. There are plenty of 135 and some 121 carriers that only offer minimal time at home as well. My advice to anyone considering Qatar or other ME carriers.... Use them to bolster your resume, fatten your bank account, and gain valuable experience... and then return to the US.

I'm not sure exactly how it works, but if you do some research on pprune.org you'll get your answer.

That said, my friend, (and I'm sure many other people) just leave and don't ever go back. The only problem is you now have a travel restriction from returning to Qatar. If you work at a place like Allegiant, Frontier, or Spirit, it probably won't ever matter. If you go to United, FedEx, Atlas, etc. it could be since they actually fly there. If you re-enter the country, even as flight crew they may arrest you.

Um 100 hours a month?? I'm sorry but the guys I know that are on the A320 fly 65-70 hours max, and make at least 15,000-16,000 dollars a month. Don't know if it is different on the other fleets.

Sometimes more than 100 hours. Apparently they changed the law over there so it's only 100 hours of "seat" time. So if your doing the long haul stuff, time spent sleeping in the rack doesn't count so guys are going well over 100/month.

The guys I know we're on the -330 and the -777.

I'll second that. My next door neighbor is a 320 FO who flies about this much and is getting his command upgrade after 3 years with the company.

Asian airlines are managed much different than their U.S. counterparts and if you can play the game and keep your head down you should be fine.

They just got a housing allowance raise but it still doesn't cover a nice compound villa if you have a couple of kids. Believe the Captain's are at 15,000 QR and the FO's are at 12,000.

School fee reimbursement was recently raised and I believe is 125,000QR total for up to 3 kids. The 125k will almost pay for the American School for two kids. Schools are generally difficult to get into and you may have to settle for a second or third choice or home school for a year.

It's blazing hot in the summer and beautiful in the winter. There are no other seasons. We just had a nasty sandstorm that was right out of the apocalypse. Mopped our floor five times and the bucket water still came away dirty. Had to take the wife to the ER for multiple breathing treatments and medicine after it wreaked havoc on her asthma. We even have 3 air purifiers in the villa.

Medical care is hit and miss but I would say not up to US standards based on our experiences. We just flew her to Hong Kong for other issues. Others I know have been quite happy depending on the issue at hand.

Construction is everywhere prepping for the World Cup and beyond. Traffic can be stressful.

FWIW I don't work for them but I know a few guys from the U.S. that do. Perhaps some of them may care to chime in. Schedules and hours flown vary greatly depending on your fleet.

If you have any other questions let me know and if you come to Doha for the interview give me a shout and I'll buy you a beer if I'm around.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk